WO2010109317A1 - Mesure capacitive du niveau de carburant et de la constante diélectrique - Google Patents

Mesure capacitive du niveau de carburant et de la constante diélectrique Download PDF

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Publication number
WO2010109317A1
WO2010109317A1 PCT/IB2010/000686 IB2010000686W WO2010109317A1 WO 2010109317 A1 WO2010109317 A1 WO 2010109317A1 IB 2010000686 W IB2010000686 W IB 2010000686W WO 2010109317 A1 WO2010109317 A1 WO 2010109317A1
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WO
WIPO (PCT)
Prior art keywords
fuel
dielectric constant
fuel level
capacitance
sensor elements
Prior art date
Application number
PCT/IB2010/000686
Other languages
English (en)
Inventor
Sundararajan Krishnan
Original Assignee
Pricol Limited
Priority date (The priority date is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the date listed.)
Filing date
Publication date
Application filed by Pricol Limited filed Critical Pricol Limited
Publication of WO2010109317A1 publication Critical patent/WO2010109317A1/fr

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Classifications

    • G—PHYSICS
    • G01—MEASURING; TESTING
    • G01F—MEASURING VOLUME, VOLUME FLOW, MASS FLOW OR LIQUID LEVEL; METERING BY VOLUME
    • G01F23/00—Indicating or measuring liquid level or level of fluent solid material, e.g. indicating in terms of volume or indicating by means of an alarm
    • G01F23/22—Indicating or measuring liquid level or level of fluent solid material, e.g. indicating in terms of volume or indicating by means of an alarm by measuring physical variables, other than linear dimensions, pressure or weight, dependent on the level to be measured, e.g. by difference of heat transfer of steam or water
    • G01F23/26—Indicating or measuring liquid level or level of fluent solid material, e.g. indicating in terms of volume or indicating by means of an alarm by measuring physical variables, other than linear dimensions, pressure or weight, dependent on the level to be measured, e.g. by difference of heat transfer of steam or water by measuring variations of capacity or inductance of capacitors or inductors arising from the presence of liquid or fluent solid material in the electric or electromagnetic fields
    • G01F23/263—Indicating or measuring liquid level or level of fluent solid material, e.g. indicating in terms of volume or indicating by means of an alarm by measuring physical variables, other than linear dimensions, pressure or weight, dependent on the level to be measured, e.g. by difference of heat transfer of steam or water by measuring variations of capacity or inductance of capacitors or inductors arising from the presence of liquid or fluent solid material in the electric or electromagnetic fields by measuring variations in capacitance of capacitors
    • G01F23/268—Indicating or measuring liquid level or level of fluent solid material, e.g. indicating in terms of volume or indicating by means of an alarm by measuring physical variables, other than linear dimensions, pressure or weight, dependent on the level to be measured, e.g. by difference of heat transfer of steam or water by measuring variations of capacity or inductance of capacitors or inductors arising from the presence of liquid or fluent solid material in the electric or electromagnetic fields by measuring variations in capacitance of capacitors mounting arrangements of probes
    • G—PHYSICS
    • G01—MEASURING; TESTING
    • G01F—MEASURING VOLUME, VOLUME FLOW, MASS FLOW OR LIQUID LEVEL; METERING BY VOLUME
    • G01F23/00—Indicating or measuring liquid level or level of fluent solid material, e.g. indicating in terms of volume or indicating by means of an alarm
    • G01F23/22—Indicating or measuring liquid level or level of fluent solid material, e.g. indicating in terms of volume or indicating by means of an alarm by measuring physical variables, other than linear dimensions, pressure or weight, dependent on the level to be measured, e.g. by difference of heat transfer of steam or water
    • G01F23/26—Indicating or measuring liquid level or level of fluent solid material, e.g. indicating in terms of volume or indicating by means of an alarm by measuring physical variables, other than linear dimensions, pressure or weight, dependent on the level to be measured, e.g. by difference of heat transfer of steam or water by measuring variations of capacity or inductance of capacitors or inductors arising from the presence of liquid or fluent solid material in the electric or electromagnetic fields
    • G01F23/263—Indicating or measuring liquid level or level of fluent solid material, e.g. indicating in terms of volume or indicating by means of an alarm by measuring physical variables, other than linear dimensions, pressure or weight, dependent on the level to be measured, e.g. by difference of heat transfer of steam or water by measuring variations of capacity or inductance of capacitors or inductors arising from the presence of liquid or fluent solid material in the electric or electromagnetic fields by measuring variations in capacitance of capacitors
    • G01F23/266—Indicating or measuring liquid level or level of fluent solid material, e.g. indicating in terms of volume or indicating by means of an alarm by measuring physical variables, other than linear dimensions, pressure or weight, dependent on the level to be measured, e.g. by difference of heat transfer of steam or water by measuring variations of capacity or inductance of capacitors or inductors arising from the presence of liquid or fluent solid material in the electric or electromagnetic fields by measuring variations in capacitance of capacitors measuring circuits therefor
    • G—PHYSICS
    • G01—MEASURING; TESTING
    • G01N—INVESTIGATING OR ANALYSING MATERIALS BY DETERMINING THEIR CHEMICAL OR PHYSICAL PROPERTIES
    • G01N27/00—Investigating or analysing materials by the use of electric, electrochemical, or magnetic means
    • G01N27/02—Investigating or analysing materials by the use of electric, electrochemical, or magnetic means by investigating impedance
    • G01N27/22—Investigating or analysing materials by the use of electric, electrochemical, or magnetic means by investigating impedance by investigating capacitance
    • G01N27/221—Investigating or analysing materials by the use of electric, electrochemical, or magnetic means by investigating impedance by investigating capacitance by investigating the dielectric properties

Definitions

  • the present invention relates to sensor system to measure fuel level, more particularly relates to measuring fuel level in automobiles.
  • Existing capacitive type of fuel level sensor works based on the principle of dielectric. It works by measuring the change in capacitance between two conducting surfaces of inner and outer tubes profiles.
  • the electronic signal conditioning circuit in the sensors measures the change in capacitance and converts this value to analogue output corresponding to fuel level in the tank.
  • the output is further displayed as analogue signal or PWM signal.
  • the capacitance type fuel sensor form part of the capacitance to digital converter circuitry. As the capacitance varies, the output of the capacitance to digital converter circuitry will vary. The variation is measured and processed to compute the fuel level for any unknown dielectric constant of the fuel. Currently, the output is PWM signal proportional to the fuel level but analog output signal is also possible (as shown in FIG. 2).
  • Transient suppressor in the circuit suppresses the undesirable voltages detected at the supply input.
  • Low dropout regulator regulates the input voltage to the desired voltage required for other integrated circuits to function.
  • Capacitance to digital converter connected to the two sensors converts the measured capacitance values in to digital waveform.
  • Microcontroller in the circuit reads the sensed values as a waveform and determines the fuel level using the algorithm embedded in it. Microcontroller outputs the fuel level calculated in the form of PWM.
  • These type sensors comprise non movable parts which ensure reliability of the entire system. Calibration feature is provided to compensate for the component tolerances while manufacturing and usage of all types of fuels.
  • the above product can be calibrated at factory for any type of fuel.
  • These sensors are applicable any type of fuel or any type of fuel mixture ratio. Automobiles which use petrol as main fuel, alternative fuels such as ethanol, and ethanol mix fuels such as ElO, E15, E20, and E85 are being used. These fuels can be mixed at any varying proportion by the user according to the availability, economy etc., These fuels vary in density as well as electrical properties which make the conventional fuel sensors feasible to measure the fuel level to the accuracy demanded by the end user.
  • Capacitance types of fuel sensors are available in the market but they are normally good for a specific type of fuel or for a specific type of fuel mixture. They often require calibration whenever the fuel type or fuel mixture ratio is changed.
  • FIG. 1 illustrates existing method adopted for measurement of fluid level, wherein 1- Tank; 2-Liquid; 3-Outer tube; 4-Central electrode; 6-Measuring device.
  • the main object of the present invention is to develop a system which automatically measure electrical property of the fuel and automatically learn the type of fuel as well as the volumetric ratio mix of the fuel in vehicles.
  • Yet another object of this invention is to measure the composite electrical property of the fuel in the fuel tank and to indicate the correct volume data of the fuel present in the fuel tank.
  • the present invention provides for a system to measure dielectric constant and fuel level , the said system comprising plurality of sensor elements disposal inside container (fuel tank) at pre-determined heights or plurality of sensor elements of different profiles , a capacitance to digital converter-module connected to each sensor excites the sensor element measures the capacitance value and produces a proportional signals, a microcontroller to process the signal output from the capacitance to digital converters connected to each sensing element and to generate output signal proportional to the level of the fuel .
  • the microcontroller is also confirmed to compute the composite dielectric constant of the fuel mix which can be output as digital data .
  • the same microcontroller can also be configured to function as capacitance to digital converter or it can be configured using a separate electronics circuitry.
  • FIG. 1 shows an existing method adopted for measurement of fuel level
  • FIG. 2 shows block diagram illustrating the measuring of fuel and computing dielectric constant
  • FIG. 3 shows various arrangements of sensor elements to measure dielectric constant and level of fluid/fuel
  • case 3 shows schematic diagram of sensor elements to illustrate the triangulation method according to instant invention.
  • the main embodiment of present invention relates to a system to measure dielectric constant and fuel level, said system comprising plurality of sensor elements disposed inside container at predetermined heights; at least one capacitance to digital converter connected to each sensor element to receive input signals from the sensor elements to produce signals; a microcontroller being adopted to receive the signals from the capacitance to digital converter to generate output signals proportional to the fuel level and fuel mixture composition; a microcontroller configured to compute composite dielectric constant of the fuel and the fuel level.
  • the output signals generated by the microcontroller are preferably Pulse Width Modulated (PWM) or analog signals.
  • the sensor elements are arranged asymmetrically profiled and are preferably two in number.
  • the container is preferably a fuel tank.
  • the system is capable of measuring dielectric constant of combination of alternate fuels used in an automobile.
  • Another embodiment of the present invention provides for a method to measure dielectric constant and fuel level, said method comprising acts of measuring capacitance of plurality of sensor elements by generating output signals proportional to fuel level and fuel mixture composition; and computing effective capacitance using triangulation method to measure dielectric constant and fuel level.
  • Yet another embodiment of the present invention provides for an automobile comprising a system to measure dielectric constant and fuel level, said system comprising plurality of sensor elements disposed inside container at predetermined heights (Fig 3 case 1) or asymmetrically profiled sensor elements arranged as shown in case 3 of figure 3;. at least one capacitance to digital converter connected to each sensor element to receive input signals from the sensor elements to produce signals; a microcontroller being adopted to receive signals from the capacitance to digital converter to generate output signals proportional to the fuel level and fuel mixture composition; a microcontroller configured to compute composite dielectric constant of the fuel and the fuel level.
  • the proposed method ensures the auto learning capability of any fuels used in automobile field.
  • This system also works based on the electrical properties of the fuels.
  • the new design includes two level sensors of different dimensions. The sensor detects efficiently & effectively two parameters namely, the dielectric constant as well as the height of the fuel. Hence for a specific fuel level, these sensors will give out different capacitance values. By use of triangulation techniques, these variables are computed and thus the fuel level signals are sent out of sensor as proportional DC Voltage or as proportional PWM signal.
  • the sensor is also carry out nominal averaging to give a fairly stabilized output under various driving conditions.
  • the proposed new method in this invention uses two capacitance sensors like as described above which are stacked in such manner that one is placed asymmetric to another as shown in FIG 3 case 3.
  • Capacitance values varies based on the dielectric constant of air, fuel and area of the two sensor elements.
  • FIG. 2 illustrates schematic diagram of tank comprising sensors. Any combination of alternate fuel filled in a tank has a composite dielectric constant. Our objective of using this sensor is to measure the composite dielectric constant as well as the height of the fuel level. Since two variables are to be found that two sensors are used in this invention.
  • the effective capacitance of the sensors depends on the level of fuel filled in the tank. Since these sensors are asymmetrical in terms of dimensions, they produce different capacitance value. By triangulation techniques the effective capacitance value is calculated as in the above method.
  • the capacitance type fuel sensor form part of the capacitance to digital converter timing circuitry. As the capacitance varies, the frequency output of the capacitance to digital converter will vary (as shown in FIG. 5). The frequency measured from capacitance to digital converter units is processed using controller to compute the fuel level. The controller frequently monitors the change in frequency and gives out the output in terms of PWM proportional to the fuel level. This type of sensor is well suited for vehicle using multi fuels.

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  • Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
  • Power Engineering (AREA)
  • Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
  • General Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
  • Fluid Mechanics (AREA)
  • Thermal Sciences (AREA)
  • Chemical & Material Sciences (AREA)
  • Electromagnetism (AREA)
  • Health & Medical Sciences (AREA)
  • General Health & Medical Sciences (AREA)
  • Immunology (AREA)
  • Pathology (AREA)
  • Biochemistry (AREA)
  • Analytical Chemistry (AREA)
  • Life Sciences & Earth Sciences (AREA)
  • Electrochemistry (AREA)
  • Chemical Kinetics & Catalysis (AREA)
  • Measurement Of Levels Of Liquids Or Fluent Solid Materials (AREA)

Abstract

La présente invention concerne un système permettant de mesurer un niveau de carburant, plus particulièrement, elle concerne la mesure du niveau de carburant dans des automobiles. Le système comprend une pluralité d'éléments de détection disposés à l'intérieur d'un contenant à des hauteurs prédéfinies ; au moins un CI de convertisseur capacité/numérique connecté à chaque élément de détection afin de recevoir des signaux d'entrée en provenance des éléments de détection afin de produire des signaux ; un microdispositif de commande conçu pour recevoir les signaux provenant des CI de convertisseur capacité/numérique afin de générer des signaux de sortie proportionnels au niveau de carburant et à la composition du mélange de carburant ; un microdispositif conçu pour calculer une constante diélectrique composite du carburant et du niveau de carburant. La présente invention concerne également un procédé pour la mesure de la constante diélectrique et du niveau de carburant.
PCT/IB2010/000686 2009-03-26 2010-03-26 Mesure capacitive du niveau de carburant et de la constante diélectrique WO2010109317A1 (fr)

Applications Claiming Priority (2)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
IN00681/CHE/2009 2009-03-26
IN681CH2009 2009-03-26

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WO2010109317A1 true WO2010109317A1 (fr) 2010-09-30

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Cited By (9)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US8281655B2 (en) 2009-04-03 2012-10-09 Eaton Corporation Fuel gauging system utilizing a digital fuel gauging probe
WO2017124104A1 (fr) * 2016-01-15 2017-07-20 Case Western Reserve University Détection diélectrique pour la caractérisation d'échantillons
US9995701B2 (en) 2014-06-02 2018-06-12 Case Western Reserve University Capacitive sensing apparatuses, systems and methods of making same
US10498446B2 (en) 2017-04-20 2019-12-03 Harris Corporation Electronic system including waveguide with passive optical elements and related methods
CN110907505A (zh) * 2019-12-02 2020-03-24 四川中大华瑞能源技术有限公司 一种非接触式在线实时水分检测仪
CN112315031A (zh) * 2020-11-20 2021-02-05 河南中烟工业有限责任公司 基于极间电容介电常数变化的烟支检测方法
US11175252B2 (en) 2016-01-15 2021-11-16 Case Western Reserve University Dielectric sensing for blood characterization
US11408844B2 (en) 2019-04-02 2022-08-09 Case Western Reserve University Dielectric sensing to characterize hemostatic dysfunction
US11774388B2 (en) 2019-04-02 2023-10-03 Case Western Reserve University Dielectric sensing to characterize hemostatic dysfunction

Citations (5)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US5051921A (en) * 1989-11-30 1991-09-24 David Sarnoff Research Center, Inc. Method and apparatus for detecting liquid composition and actual liquid level
US6490920B1 (en) * 1997-08-25 2002-12-10 Millennium Sensors Ltd. Compensated capacitive liquid level sensor
JP2004205445A (ja) * 2002-12-26 2004-07-22 Matsushita Electric Works Ltd 静電容量式液位センサ
UA62670C2 (en) * 2003-04-25 2006-02-15 Kharkiv Aviation Institute Fuel level meter
JP2007040753A (ja) * 2005-08-01 2007-02-15 Yazaki Corp 液面レベルセンサ

Patent Citations (5)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US5051921A (en) * 1989-11-30 1991-09-24 David Sarnoff Research Center, Inc. Method and apparatus for detecting liquid composition and actual liquid level
US6490920B1 (en) * 1997-08-25 2002-12-10 Millennium Sensors Ltd. Compensated capacitive liquid level sensor
JP2004205445A (ja) * 2002-12-26 2004-07-22 Matsushita Electric Works Ltd 静電容量式液位センサ
UA62670C2 (en) * 2003-04-25 2006-02-15 Kharkiv Aviation Institute Fuel level meter
JP2007040753A (ja) * 2005-08-01 2007-02-15 Yazaki Corp 液面レベルセンサ

Cited By (13)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US8281655B2 (en) 2009-04-03 2012-10-09 Eaton Corporation Fuel gauging system utilizing a digital fuel gauging probe
US10746684B2 (en) 2014-06-02 2020-08-18 Case Western Reserve University Sensor apparatus, systems and methods of making same
US9995701B2 (en) 2014-06-02 2018-06-12 Case Western Reserve University Capacitive sensing apparatuses, systems and methods of making same
US11175252B2 (en) 2016-01-15 2021-11-16 Case Western Reserve University Dielectric sensing for blood characterization
US10674931B2 (en) 2016-01-15 2020-06-09 Case Western Reserve University Dielectric sensing for sample characterization
US11058316B2 (en) 2016-01-15 2021-07-13 Case Western Reserve University Dielectric sensing for sample characterization
WO2017124104A1 (fr) * 2016-01-15 2017-07-20 Case Western Reserve University Détection diélectrique pour la caractérisation d'échantillons
US10498446B2 (en) 2017-04-20 2019-12-03 Harris Corporation Electronic system including waveguide with passive optical elements and related methods
US11408844B2 (en) 2019-04-02 2022-08-09 Case Western Reserve University Dielectric sensing to characterize hemostatic dysfunction
US11774388B2 (en) 2019-04-02 2023-10-03 Case Western Reserve University Dielectric sensing to characterize hemostatic dysfunction
CN110907505A (zh) * 2019-12-02 2020-03-24 四川中大华瑞能源技术有限公司 一种非接触式在线实时水分检测仪
CN110907505B (zh) * 2019-12-02 2022-04-15 四川中大华瑞能源技术有限公司 一种非接触式在线实时水分检测仪
CN112315031A (zh) * 2020-11-20 2021-02-05 河南中烟工业有限责任公司 基于极间电容介电常数变化的烟支检测方法

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